Animal of the week

Common Name Natal tree frog, Natal forest tree frog (Eng.); Natalse boompadda (Afr.) Derivation of scientific name The species name […]

Common names Stinkbug (Eng.); podile (Sepedi); thongolifha (Venda); harurwa (Shona); tsonônô (Sepulana); xipembele (Xitsonga) Introduction Insects account for more than […]

Derivation of scientific name The first part of the genus name Capensibufo  refers to the Cape (capensi-), and the second […]

Derivation of scientific name The common name, lion is similar in many languages, for example the Afrikaans leeu, and comes […]

Derivation of scientific name The species name burchellii is derived from the name of the British explorer and naturalist, William […]

Derivation of scientific name The genus name, Poicephalus, means ‘different head’. All the species in this genus have heads that […]

The genus Dispholidus has only one species (D. typus). The name ‘boomslang’ is Afrikaans for ‘tree snake’. The snake is […]

Derivation of scientific name Arthroleptella is a genus of frog in the Pyxicephalidae family. All frogs in this genus are […]

Derivation of scientific name The species name, umbretta, is Latin meaning shade or shady; possibly either referring to the dusky […]

Common names Square-lipped rhinoceros, southern white rhinoceros, northern white rhinoceros (Eng.); witrenoster (Afr.); xibejwani/mhelembe (Xitsonga) Introduction Square-lipped rhinoceros (usually shortened […]

Common names Black-headed dwarf chameleon, Durban dwarf chameleon (Eng.); KwaZulu-dwergverkleurmannetjie (Afr.); iLovane (isiXhosa); unwabu (isiZulu); rimpfani (Xitsonga) Introduction Chameleons are […]

Common names European shore crab, shore crab (Eng.); gancu (Xitsonga) Introduction Carcinus maenas, commonly called the European shore crab, is […]

Derivation of scientific name Garden fruit chafers belong to the order Coleoptera, which is derived from the Greek words koelos, […]

Derivation of scientific name The species name fulvopilosus is derived from the Latin word fulvus (used as an adjective or […]

Derivation of scientific name Species name from the Latin word, paradiseus, meaning ‘paradise’ and possibly referring to the Blue Crane’s […]